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This painting came from a wonderful hike to the base camp of Mt. Everest in 2008. I saw many mani stones. These stones are inscribed in Tebetian script and say," om ma ni pad me hum". This is a Buddhist mantra that is translated into English as, "the jewel is in the lotus". The Lotus is a symbol of perfect harmony. I am not Nepalese or a Buddhist and felt I did not have the right to make my own mani stone. So I interperted the inspiration of a mani stone by combining it with my water color calligraphy. This was the first shift. The second one was combining water color with stone, usually not together. The right side of the piece is carved pool table slate (recycled from a broken table) and the water color is actually hung on the stone as well as the frame of the orignal. I also painted the upper portion of the stone with acrylic to nuanced the stone and water color together visually. The lower right Tebetian script is the polished slate's natural color.

Lettering Art by Sid Freeman �After 20 years as a professional calligrapher, I found myself competing with the computer. This was not fun and slowly I worked back to my roots as a painter only this time using those magical sound symbols which make up our speech.� Receiving her MFA from the University of Wyoming and then working in advertising Sid Freeman became enamored with calligraphy. With the help of the Wyoming Arts Council grant money she began to study with many incredible professionals as well as taking workshops from the Colorado Calligraphers� Guild. In 1987 she became self employed and enjoyed doing great jobs like the Wyoming Governor�s Awards and Federal Marshal�s Proclamations. In 1993 she and her husband,...